A person might use a card, such as a Smart Card, for a number of different reasons. For example, a Smart Card might include a user's name, date of birth, image, and/or other information that may be used to authentic the person (e.g., information associated with his or her fingerprint or iris pattern). The person might then insert the card into a slot of a computer in order to authenticate his or her identity (e.g., to complete a secure transaction or to gain access to a secure network).
As another example, a person might use an ExpressCard to provide additional functionality to a computer. For example, a person might insert an ExpressCard into a slot of a computer in order to add memory to the computer system and/or to transfer information between the computer system and another device (e.g., a digital camera).
Note that different types of cards may have different standardized form factors. For example, a first type of card, such as an ExpressCard, might have a multi-pin connector on one end to exchange information. A second type of card, such as a Smart Card, on the other hand, might be thinner than the first type and have contacts on its top and/or bottom surface.
A computer may have multiple interconnects, each having a slot to receive a particular type of card. For example, the side of a mobile computer might have a first interconnect and a second interconnect placed side-by-side. In this case, however, the amount of space occupied on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) within the mobile computer (e.g., a motherboard), also referred to as the “footprint” of the arrangement, may be significant. As another approach, the first interconnect could be placed above the second interconnect. In this case, however, the minimum height of the mobile computer might be increased.